In a controversial decision with potentially wide-reaching consequences, the Full Court of the Federal Court has upheld an earlier ruling that a labour hire employee who worked as a “casual” truck driver at Queensland coal mines on a regular basis over several years was not actually a casual employee for the purposes of the National Employment Standards, and was entitled to paid annual leave when his employment ended.

In a recent VCAT decision of AVC Operations Pty Ltd v Teley Pty Ltd (2018) VCAT 931 it was held that the landlord of a lease governed by the Retail Leases Act (Act) was not entitled to withhold consent to an assignment of a lease of a hotel business on the basis that the incoming tenant (assignee) did not have sufficient financial resources or business experience to meet the lease obligations.

Husqvarna Australia (Husqvarna), a subsidiary of the Swedish Husqvarna Group, has recently signed an enforceable undertaking to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in relation to breaches of the Franchising Code of Conduct (Franchising Code), the Competition and Consumer Act (CCA) and the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

On 15 May 2018 the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic) (the Act) received Royal Assent with an effective date of 1 November 2018. The Act repeals and replaces the Long Service Leave Act 1992 (Vic), provides increased benefits for various classes of employees, including in particular parents and carers, and will apply to all employees in Victoria unless explicitly excluded.

The Full Federal Court handed down a significant decision on 20 August 2018, finding that accessorial liability extends to advisors involved in underpayments. The matter of Ezy Accounting 123 Pty Ltd v Fair Work Ombudsman [2018] FCAFC 134 involved an appeal by Ezy Accounting (Ezy) against penalties imposed by the Federal Circuit Court for failure to advise their client of contraventions of the Fair Work Act (Act).

In a decision handed down by the Fair Work Commission on 6 July 2018, the content of the model term providing an entitlement for unpaid family and domestic violence leave was finalised. According to the decision, the model term will be inserted into modern awards with industry and occupational coverage as part of the 4 yearly review of modern awards and will be effective from 1 August 2018.

Last month, France claimed its second World Cup since its inception by defeating the fairytale story of the tournament, Croatia, 4-2 in an action-packed final. The match was filled with drama, with an own-goal, pitch invaders and heavy rain, but the outstanding display of sporting brilliance shone through.

In light of the ATO’s current position that income from cryptocurrency sales will generally be taxed under capital gains tax (CGT) provisions and increased scrutiny on cryptocurrency transactions, taxpayers should ensure they keep accurate records of cryptocurrency transactions.

Did you or do you currently hold cryptocurrencies? Did you sell any cryptocurrencies before finding out that the Australian Tax Office (ATO) would vigilantly tax cryptocurrency sales? Are you left scratching your head after reading the ATO’s guidance? If so, you are one of many Australians currently finding themselves in an uncertain tax situation.

This week Cruisin Motorhomes paid a $12,600 penalty following an infringement notice from the ACCC alleging a breach of the excessive payment surcharge laws as outlined in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. The ban on excessive surcharge payments has been in place since September 2017.

LeBron to LABron – in the biggest off-season news in the NBA, the league’s pre-eminent player, ‘King James’, last week announced that he had agreed to a lucrative deal to play for its most famous franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Foreign companies that may be controlled by an Australian entity should review their decision-making based on the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Taxation Ruling, TR 2018/5 (TR 2018/5). It is timely for Australian groups with foreign-incorporated subsidiaries to consider whether they are appropriately managing tax residency risk by re-visiting and/or implementing tax residency protocols and ensuring that they can be applied practically.

This week the government released the Board of Taxation report on a new tax residency model for individuals with a position that further analysis and consideration on the key recommendations is required before the Government takes a position.

The Legislative Council have this week passed legislation to regulate labour hire in Victoria. The Labour Hire Licencing Bill 2017 (Vic) was passed by 21 votes to 19, with minor amendments to be returned to the Legislative Assembly for endorsement.